AN: Yes, yes, it's been forever, I know... but hey! Didn't the last chapter count twice? Or... something?
Chapter 21
Sonora Snape frowned and resisted the urge to hurl the heavy tome in front her against the far wall. Bloody blast it all, she thought, shoving a hand through the thick locks of hair that had come loose. She'd been at it all so long, the charm she normally kept her hair neat with had worn off. Damn it all to hell. Two years, they'd been trying to adapt this potion. Two bloody years.
Finally giving in to that feeling of overwhelming frustration, she grabbed the glass beaker that was sitting oh so innocently on her desk and hurled it with great enthusiasm toward the wall. It smashed with a wonderfully satisfying crash, so she grabbed another. She'd managed to deplete nearly half the rack of clean beakers before she was grabbed from behind.
"What the bloody blazes are you doing, woman?" her husband's voice sounded in her ear. She squirmed a bit, still angry at herself and more than ready to throw another. "You've managed to destroy a good two dozen beakers!"
"Let me... ooff..." she grunted, still squirming. Hah. Like there was anyway she'd managed to get out of his arms if he didn't let her. Still, it was a token protest. "It made me feel better!"
There was a sigh behind her, his breath brushing warm against the nape of her neck. "Sonora," that deep, dark, velvety voice said softly. "We will find a way."
She quit the struggling, and sighed herself, sinking back against him. She could always count on Severus to hold her up when she stumbled, literally and figuratively. "I know," she said, feeling dangerously close to tears, "but we're so close! And they'll need it, Severus, they need it even now."
She was gently turned around and folded even closer. Sonora pressed her cheek into his shoulder, against the slightly scratchy material of his plain work robe. "We will find a way," he said again over her head.
Sonora gave a small nod, her heart still sick inside her. Harry Potter had said the war was coming. Coming soon, no less, and coming here. She had to find a way... they both did. If the war came to Hogwarts, Severus would put his body on the front line, and he would have a very large target painted on it. So many of his former compatriots would like to take him down... she couldn't bear to loose him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and she hugged him closer.
His arms were strong and tender and everything she needed, and all the more precious because he saved those moments solely for her. "I suspect Malfoy will be coming by soon," he murmured into her hair, his fingers already drifting to the pieces that had come loose. The man had a fascination with the stuff. She didn't quite understand it, after all, it was only hair and not particularly remarkable hair at that. It was just long, thick and dark.
He was winding a loose lock around his finger. "I suppose I should clean up," she grumbled, not really wanting to move. She soaked up his warmth, his strength like a plant to light. She needed him as much as he needed her, she thought, not for the first time.
He gave a slight tug. "Indeed," he said. "And put your hair back up." That was another thing. The man didn't like to share, even something so little as her hair being loose. Which was fine with her, after all, loose hair was a pain in the neck.
Heaving a large sigh, she stepped back out of his arms and proceeded to rework the twists, pins and charms that kept her hair smooth and tied back and up. Severus watched, those eyes dark and warm, while he gave a flick of his wand and a murmured word, and had the beakers flying back to their rack, good as new.
"There," she grumbled, last pin in place. "Back to the bloody drawing board."
He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. "We will find something," he told her one last time, drawing back only slightly.
She sighed, for the millionth time, it seemed, and reached up to kiss him again. "You're right," she said.
As she spoke, there was a discrete tap against the door and Sonora looked over to see Draco leaning against the open door. "Come in," she told the boy with a weary smile. He straightened, giving Severus a nod as he did. Severus of course gave a very manly nod back. Sonora resisted the familiar urge to giggle. How alike they were, those two... And then she thought of a green-eyed boy. All three of them. So similar, so sure that they had to take the world on their shoulders.
Sonora straightened her own. It was up to the women around them, the friends, lovers and peers, to keep those three from killing themselves to save them all. "Right then," she said with a warm smile for her two dearest men. "Shall we?"
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Harry was sitting in the common room, ready to beat his brains out over his bloody Care of Magical Creatures homework. Honestly, Hagrid was stark raving nutters. Three feet on the care and feeding of flobberworms? Three inches, maybe. But three feet? For the NEWTS class?
Across from him, Ron was muttering something under his breath that seemed to be along the same lines. "Bloody crazy... Hagrid doesn't seem to... dumb friggin'... bloody hell!" Harry glanced up at the last one, to find that Ron had managed to spill his whole bottle of ink across his paper. Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Problem?" he asked.
Ron reached into the mess of ink and gingerly plucked a note out of the sopping black pool. "Scorgify," he said absently, pointing his wand with rather black fingers. "I got hit with this." He held up the note and wrinkled his nose at the amount of ink on the outside.
Harry cocked his head, curious. "What's in it?" he asked. It seemed like the ink was dripping off, rather than soaking in. Someone had a repelling charm on it? Harry started to get a sneaking suspicion.
Ron unfolded the note carefully, scowling as more ink dripped off onto the table. His eyebrows drew together in one red line as he read, and then he frowned. "Well?" Harry demanded, dying to know if he was right and a certain Head Girl had had a revelation or two.
Somewhat to his surprise, Ron tossed the note across the table at him. "Read it," he said shortly, and turned back to his homework.
Harry gave his friend a quizzical glance, and then picked up the rather short-looking note.
Ron,
Take a walk with me after patrol. We need to talk.
H.
Harry frowned. Huh? That didn't particularly sound like something good, he thought, darting an ominous look at Ron's rather red face. He folded the net again. "You going?" he asked quietly.
One corner of Ron's mouth twisted rather sadly, but he didn't look up. Hermione's reaction to his flowers clearly still hurt. "Course I am," he said gruffly. "Since when do I not do what Hermione tells me?" He caught Harry's look as he glanced up. "Eventually," he qualified.
Harry conceded that one. Sooner or later, Ron always did what Hermione nagged him about. Oh, sure, there were the times when he managed to convince his fellow Head to change HER mind, but then it was still Hermione in charge.
Harry sat back and studied his friend. Ron looked up as he felt the stare. "What?" he asked, looking a bit irritated.
Harry cocked his head. "Want a word of advice?" he asked.
Ron snorted. "Right. You've been dating my sister less than a week, and you want to give me advice? Fuck off, Potter."
Harry ignored him. Naturally the guy was frustrated. He'd been, too. "She's been catching you off guard with the whole kissing thing," he said, crossing his arms and stretching out his legs. "Seems to me you should turn the tables."
Now Ron looked at him. "What?"
Harry shrugged and gave him a little grin. "Might as well," he said. "You're stuck on her, she's stuck on you... You're both letting a whole lot of shit get in the way. And yes, that's something I know plenty about," he said, forestalling Ron's open mouth.
Ron snapped his mouth shut and glared at him a minute, then sat back. "So you're saying, what? Just shut her up the fun way?"
Harry winced. "Didn't need that image, thanks," he said, trying not to get a visual. "But, yeah. Basically. You'll both be happier, and to be serious, mate," he said, face and voice becoming just that, "There's only so much time left to sort this sort of thing out before it'll get bad." He gave Ron a steady stare. "Do you really want to spend these last few months before war at each other's throats?"
Ron frowned at him, but seemed to be thinking. Harry shrugged and bent back to his paper. A moment later, Ron did the same.
A good hour later, Harry jumped as a hand came down on his shoulder. "Merlin, Hermione," he grumbled as the Head Girl leaned over his shoulder, reading what he'd written. "Give a bloke some warning."
Ron meanwhile had started packing up. "Patrol time?" he asked in a very neutral voice.
Hermione looked up from his paper, and Harry could see her bite her lip. "Yes," she said. "We've got the Astronomy Tower tonight."
"Bloody lovely," Ron mumbled. "It'll be freezing. I'd better get my cloak." And he disappeared up the stairs.
Hermione's hand slipped off Harry's shoulder, and he turned to look up at her as she stared after Ron. She looked so confused, he thought. Not a usual look for their favorite walking brain. "You know, it's really very easy, Hermione," he said softly.
She blinked and looked down at him. "Huh?" she asked, clearly having been caught off guard.
He leaned back to see her face better. "It's not that complicated," he said again. "Just a matter of the heart." He gave her a faint smile. "Simply follow directions."
Hermione stared at him, then blinked. "Since when did you get so introspective, Harry?" she demanded. "You, who hasn't wanted to say a word outside of Quidditch or classes for the last two years?"
Harry shrugged, a little embarrassed. "With you two, I've been saving it up that long," he said. "Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that's all I've got. I'll have to ask Ginny for anything else."
Hermione snorted, but seemed to be eyeing him with a rather frightening look. "You're being good to Ginny, right?" she asked.
Harry widened his eyes at her. "She has six, count them, SIX older brothers," he said. "I think you'd hear if I wasn't." Of course, god help him if any of said brothers found out what they'd been doing in the Room of Requirement... Harry tried not to flush. He'd save those thoughts for later to savor.
Hermoine smiled a bit at that, but anything she might have said was cut off by Ron's heavy tramp. "Think about it," Harry got out before Ron came swinging over to them, cloak wrapped around him.
"Let's go," he grumbled. "And I swear, if I catch Martin Filburton up there one more time, I'm tying the kid's legs together and using him as a new flag for the top of Gryffindor. That kid has more bloody girlfriends than Harry does enemies."
Harry snorted, amused, and watched as the two left the common room together. He glanced toward the stairs and the girls' dormitories. Ginny had headed right upstairs, rather cheekily claiming to be tired, after giving him a short kiss that had just left his aching body wanting more.
He breathed out a sigh. He didn't quite know what he was doing with her. Was it only last week, he'd been swearing he wouldn't risk the person who mattered most? And yet, here he was with his hand up her skirt a week later. He flushed brick red, almost feeling his glasses steam as he remembered that particular moment as she'd given that little mewling cry and he'd felt that awesome feeling of love and power sweep through him...
Harry jerked himself out of his memory and back to the real world, rather thankful there was a table in front of him, as several noisy first years came into the room. He blew out a breath. He had an essay to finish, then Quidditch practice to plan. Their first game, against Ravenclaw, was coming up and he needed to work his beaters just a bit harder. And then there were those spells Hermione was working on... he should see if he could do a few. He needed as much firepower as he could get.
Harry sighed, feeling the warm tenseness drain away and a cold ball of anxiety take it's place. Sometimes he really feared he stood no chance at all. Against a man who'd spent his entire life practicing the dark arts? How was he, a teenager, supposed to beat this guy? And why the bloody hell couldn't Dumbledore, who was supposed to be the most powerful wizard alive, just blow Voldemort to smithereens?
A power he knows not, Harry thought in frustration. Yeah, well, Voldemort wasn't the only one in the dark on that one. Sure, Harry was pretty strong at casting spells. But he was under no illusions. Voldemort was better.
He reached out and picked up his quill. He'd better finish the essay, he thought, and then get to work. There was so little time left to figure it all out. He glanced at the portrait door. So little time, for so very much.
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AN: So there's a hint of Ron/Hermione for you all... thanks to popular demand. And I imagine Ginny's going to get woken up in the middle of the night for a powwow when patrol time is over. (Oh, how I love giving teasers...)
Sibling Creature – I have the same nasty tendency myself. I've lost a lot of evenings lately to, ahem, reading when I should have been doing something else. Like marking all those bloody papers...
Child-of-scorpio – Yum, chocolate. It's ALWAYS much appreciated. As to what's coming... don't you have some idea yet? Lol.
Cherryblossom08 – Me? Like smut? Nah, you've got me confused with some other writer. I've never written a smutty word in my life. (stares in amazement as nose grows to seven feet long) I better see someone about that... As for Draco, I don't think Harry's the kind of guy who really wants anyone dead, even Malfoy. And the pair of them, they've done quite a bit of growing up the hard way in the last two years.
Barbelibou – I happen to be quite fond of broccoli, especially when its on a potato and covered in melted cheese... yum... And your sucking up is top notch. Really. You could market it. Lol. Hope this chapter satisfied.
MusicMonkey88 – Patience! After all, they ARE just teenagers. And as I recall those fumblings around in a certain redhead's basement, back in high school... ahh... (clears throat) As I was saying, those first bits of experimenting can be rather intimidating and terrifying, even while their unbearably exciting. I actually feel like I'm rushing the two for the sake of the story. Not that they seem to mind...
MrsSakuraPotter – Snape's an acquired taste, I admit. Rather fortunately for my plot lines, I seem to be addicted. Lol.
FemmeDraconis – Glad you enjoyed. Yep, nasty cold is all gone, I think. (crossing fingers)
Ferggirl99 – Jeeze, give the girl the go-ahead to say what she wants, and she writes a book. Lol. Seriously sis, you rock. And I AM going to read your book. Eventually. (looking guilty). Anywhoo. Yes, I needed to draw the profs back in, but to answer your question, may I point out they were also told to brush up their combat skills? They know they'll have to fight... And the DA is a student thing. It's still operating outside of classes, not as an official club. So the teachers aren't even invited. As for Ron and Hermione, my lips are sealed. Heh heh heh.
Plateado – Snape was the first story I wrote, and he's the dearest character to my heart. There's just something about tall, dark and brooding heroes... (licking lips) I'm always glad to hear he's staying in character.
Silver Warrior – Neville outsmarting Hermione, huh? I don't see it happening, but it does give me a related idea... (jotting notes down furiously) Hee hee hee... And I'm very fond of Snape, but I know a lot of people get a little queasy. Hence my torturing them with the scene above. Heh heh heh.
PolkaDotty – Here comes the Ron/Hermione...
Hplovah, lluvatar, volleypickle16, mary-v, sambow24, lozzie, sugarbaby, James And Lily 4eva, Maddie, Adelle Rising, brokentoy19, kpxiceboi, echosound, foxyginny, haweyessabre, Moonglaze, hpjsr, cRaZLAdy1000KATZ, Openspy – Glad you're all reading and enjoying! Quite a few of you mentioned you liked the smut... heh heh heh. I will point out that I rated this story "R", so it shouldn't be all that surprising. And I can probably guarantee that there'll be more to come... oh, and about all that R/Hr stuff people have been begging me for? Consider this a down payment....